Night of the Raging Gundam
by Annwyd
Summary: The night of Domon and Rain's wedding becomes unexpectedly dangerous when their greatest ally, Domon's Gundam itself, turns on them without warning. It's up to the two of them to fix it before the damage ruins their special night.


The wedding ceremony itself went off almost flawlessly.

A few people attempted feebly to question the decision to make Allenby Beardsley the best woman and Chibodee Crocket, George de Sand, Sai Saici, and Argo Gulskii the bridesmen, but their objections were swiftly shut down. Nothing silenced needless criticism quite as effectively as those five members of the wedding entourage surrounding the naysayer and lecturing them about the power of Domon Kasshu and Rain Mikamura's love to overcome all the normal boundaries of society and, indeed, physics. Perhaps it was the way their stances suggested that if words weren't enough, they would communicate their approval of the pair and however they chose to bless their union through fists. Words were always enough, of course, insofar as words could ever be enough to convey that love.

When he walked down the aisle, Domon was sure he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Master Asia and Schwarz Bruder standing up as straight as they could but clutching each other for support, proud tears in the corners of their eyes. When he turned to look at them, they were gone, but for the rest of the ceremony he could feel their approving presence, pushing him onwards when he fumbled the words of his vows. He and Rain had come up with the wording themselves, of course, but even so it was a little difficult for Domon to remember everything he had to say. He had gotten too used to expressing his love for Rain by simply holding her. It was more natural to him.

The only real problem came when it was time for Rain and Domon to say, "I do." Rain managed it at the perfect volume and with just the right intonation; she was good with words that way. But Domon called it out with such passion and determination that the monks Zuizen and Keiun, who had taken upon themselves the task of performing the marriage rites, swooned in each other's arms and fell to the floor in a faint. Fortunately, as a doctor, Rain was able to rouse them quickly enough to finish the deal.

There weren't really any problems at the reception, either, simply because everyone already knew to expect problems, with such an extensive and boisterous guest list. Holding it in the Gundam Fight arena had definitely been the best choice, everyone agreed. That left plenty of space for everyone to celebrate while causing minimal property damage, although the damage they did cause was creative.

The trouble came afterwards, in the middle of the night.

Domon's father had arranged for the very best hotel suite to be available for Domon and Rain, but they had politely declined it and instead taken off into the wilderness in the God Gundam. They lay in each other's arms in blankets arranged just outside the reach of the spray from a waterfall, and the Gundam itself towered over them as if keeping watch from the mysteries of the forests and highlands around them. But the truth was, it was a very poor sentry.

Rain woke up in the trembling light of false down with a sense of alarm, and it didn't take her long to see and hear what had woken her. God Gundam was shaking and creaking as if under the stress of a terrible battle. The noise was finally overwhelming even the soothing roar of the waterfall. She reached out to shake Domon awake. "Domon! There's something wrong with the Gundam!"

That was all it took. The Gundam that had borne him through the tournament and, after that, the more dire fight to save the Earth, then the most important fight of all to save Rain-it was the only thing that could worry him even for a moment on such a momentous night. He sat bolt upright, and that was when things got even worse. The Gundam lifted its enormous feet and began to stomp them, sending tremors through the ground, jolting the couple. Then it turned unsteadily and marched off into the forest, crushing all obstacles in its way.

"Rain!" Domon said. "What should I do?"

Rain curled her fingers tightly around his. "You'll have to find a way to slow it down while I climb into the cockpit and diagnose what's wrong with it. Then I'll fix it before it can do any damage. To anything, including you. Especially you, Domon." She looked up at him with serious eyes, and he met her gaze. They didn't need to say more. They both knew that they were going into danger, and they each trusted the other to come through it triumphant. They had been through worse too many times to doubt the strength of their bond in times of crisis now.

So Domon just nodded. "Okay!" He leapt up and grabbed his sword.

Rain pointed to his pants. "Put them on," she said firmly. "There's poison ivy in there."

"Then you have to wear something too," Domon said as he hurriedly pulled on the pants.

Rain picked up Domon's cape and wrapped herself securely in it. "I'll be fine. Now go!" She didn't tell him anything more. She knew he'd figure out something to do—so she only ran after him as he made his way to confront the God Gundam.

The two of them caught up with it in no time at all. It was too unsteady to cut a clear, straight path through the forest; instead it wobbled from side to side, crushing trees here and stampeding undergrowth there. "There's definitely been a malfunction," Rain called to Domon. "I'll fix it!"

"Wait," Domon said. "Let me help!"

Rain nodded as Domon knelt down and offered his hands. She stepped into them without asking his intentions—they were clear enough to her. So she was prepared when he hurled her upwards, right onto the knee of the Gundam. From there, it would be her job to climb. She knew she could do it, just as she knew Domon could face the great machine with just a sword and a pair of pants. Rain began to climb.

Meanwhile, the God Gundam marched onward, still shaking. It swung a fist now and took down another couple of trees. But Domon was too quick to take any damage from it. He leaped back and jumped through a flurry of combat moves, his sword whirling through the trees around him. They fell into place as he had intended them to, forming a sturdy barrier in the shape of a heart in front of the charging Gundam.

God Gundam ground to a brief halt, still vibrating furiously. Rain was almost to the cockpit now, and she could see that with the Gundam in its current condition, she wouldn't have any trouble opening it and getting inside to check out the problem, even without the Core Lander. From there, even if she couldn't control it, she could at least find some way to shut it down.

Down on the ground, Domon was holding up his part of the fight as well. He stood in the center of the heart-shaped barrier and brandished his sword fiercely. "We've fought many battles together, Gundam, but this time I won't let you pass! You won't make a ruin out of this night, I swear!"

"Domon!" Rain's voice reached out from beyond the open hatch of the Gundam. "I'm in!" Her deft fingers flew furiously over the inner workings of the machine, dancing carefully away from wires that were smoking with heat and energy. The smoke and heat led her quickly enough to the problem. "What? These are the circuits activated in Sekiha Tenkyoken! No...wait..."

"Don't hurt yourself, Rain!" Domon couldn't stop himself from calling. "Wait, do you mean I overused that attack or something?"

"You know I won't let myself get hurt now," Rain said. "Not on this night!" She pulled away a bundle of wires that hadn't melted yet. "No! Domon, the God Gundam has a new component that we didn't put there!"

"It's sabotage, then!" Domon said, bracing himself for another attack from his own Gundam.

"No," Rain said suddenly, comprehension dawning on her face amidst sweat and soot. "I was wrong. We created this new part without realizing it! It was made to channel the force of Sekiha Love Love Tenkyoken in our final attack on the Devil Gundam, I'm sure of it! It fits the rest of the components too well to be sabotage. But why is it malfunctioning now...?"

"I don't know," Domon said, "but Rain, I trust you to figure it out!"

"Ouch!" Rain cried, pulling her hand away from the glowing, heart-shaped new device. "Domon...it heated up when you said that! This means..."

"I don't understand," Domon said. "It responded to my voice?"

"No," Rain said. "It responded to your feelings." She blinked away tears, although she wasn't sure if they were from the smoke or not. "We overloaded the Gundam's love circuit!"

"If that's the case," Domon said, "we have to stop it together. Rain! Get ready!" Without waiting for a response—knowing she would be ready by the time he was there—he leapt up onto the barrier he had created and jumped from there onto the Gundam's chest, then into its cockpit. Rain caught hold of his arm immediately. "All right! There's only one thing to do. We're going to overload it _completely_ so it burns out!"

"I'll make sure the replacement is more durable," Rain said breathlessly.

"I know you will," Domon said. "Rain—"

"Domon—"

They cried out the next three words in unison. "_I love you!_"

The resulting explosion flung them right out of the cockpit of the Gundam. Fortunately, they were ready for that. Domon caught hold of the top of the barrier as they tumbled outward and firmly settled the both of them on it. There they rested, atop the giant wooden heart that had served to briefly halt the out-of-control Gundam's advance. The Gundam itself was no longer out of control; it merely sizzled and smoked faintly. The love circuit had been blasted to pieces by the force of the feelings that had flowed into it.

Now, secure in the knowledge that it wouldn't endanger their safety anymore, Rain leaned into Domon's arms, and the two of them waited together for morning.


End file.
